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Welcome to San Diego Superior Court's Traffic and Minor Offense Division. This Division has jurisdiction over Vehicle Code violations, some local municipal ordinances, infractions, and minor misdemeanors. These offenses may include Fish and Game, Animal Control and transit violations (e.g. San Diego Trolley violations).

If you received a citation/ticket, you may receive a Courtesy Notice from the court in the mail. This may be your first contact with the Traffic Court process. Most questions will be answered by information provided on the Courtesy Notice. If you have not received your Courtesy Notice, click here.

Need more information? Check out the menu (or options) to the left on your computer.

AMNESTY PROGRAM FOR TRAFFIC TICKETS / INFRACTIONS

On June 24, 2015, the Governor signed into law a one-time amnesty program for unpaid traffic and non-traffic infraction tickets. The program runs from October 1, 2015 through March 31, 2017.

There are two groups of people who can participate in the amnesty program:

Persons with unpaid tickets whose bail or fines were originally due to be paid on or before January 1, 2013, who have not made any payments, may be eligible to have both their debt reduced by 50 or 80 percent depending on income and their driver's license hold released.

Persons who were delinquent, but are currently making payments or become current the date of the request, are not eligible for a reduction, but may be eligible to have the “failure to pay” notification removed from their driving record, if they are in good standing on a payment plan.

A $50 Amnesty Program Fee will be charged for each eligible participant. This fee will be added and must be paid along with the first payment or lump sum amount in order to participate in the amnesty program.

Before contacting the court, check out the Judicial Council’s web page on the Amnesty Program. If you think you are eligible for the reduction and/or the license hold release, complete the Amnesty Participation Form and bring it to the court location where your delinquent ticket was filed.

See the Language Access page for information about requesting an interpreter.

Courtesy Notices

If you received a citation/ticket for a traffic or other minor offense, a Courtesy Notice may be mailed to you at the address on the citation. The Courtesy Notice includes:

the bail amount for this citation,

the due date when payment must be made,

eligibility for Traffic Violator School (TVS),

information on clearing a "fix-it" ticket with proof of correction,

how to pay by credit card, and

where and when to report if you would like to appear in court. Bail is not required to appear in court.

If you are cited for a traffic violation or minor offense, the court may mail you a Courtesy Notice at the address listed on the ticket. You may receive the Courtesy Notice about two weeks before your "promise to appear" date (appearance date), which is shown below your signature on the ticket.

Payment options are shown on the Courtesy Notice to help you avoid the time and inconvenience of coming to the courthouse.

If you do not receive your Courtesy Notice at least two weeks before your appearance date (or "promise to appear date") and/or do not understand your options, you may:

If your appearance in court is required, your Courtesy Notice will say, "You must appear in court on or before your appearance date." Bail is not required to appear in court.

It takes approximately two to three weeks from the date you received your ticket for your case to be filed with the court.

Do not disregard your ticket if you do not receive your Courtesy Notice in the mail. You must appear at the courthouse or settle your case by mail, over the phone, or online by the appearance date, whether or not you receive the Courtesy Notice. Read the back of your traffic ticket for additional information.

Failure to resolve your ticket by the due date may result in a $300 civil assessment penalty being added to the original bail and a referral to a collection agency pursuant to Penal Code §1214.1, or a warrant for your arrest and/or suspension of your driver license.